Jean Joseph Bott (9 March 1826 – 28 April 1895) was a German

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

late in his life.

Biography

He was born in

Cassel Cassel may refer to: People * Cassel (surname) Places ;France * Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France ** Battle of Cassel (1071) ** Battle of Cassel (1328) ** Battle of Cassel (1677) ;Germany * Cassel, Germany, a city in Hesse renam ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where he received his first musical instruction from his father, a court musician. At the age of 9, he was proficient enough to make a performance tour of the Netherlands with his father. After winning a Mozart scholarship in 1841, he began studies of theory and composition under

Moritz Hauptmann Moritz Hauptmann (13 October 1792, Dresden – 3 January 1868, Leipzig), was a German music theorist, teacher and composer. His principal theoretical work is the 1853 ''Die Natur der Harmonie und der Metrik'' explores numerous topics, particular ...

and violin under Louis Spohr, and after two years of study entered the Cassel court orchestra, where he became concertmaster at the age of 17. In 1846, he left Cassel to travel through Germany. He played before

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

and was accompanied by Liszt and Meyerbeer. In 1857, he became court

kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

, and then in 1865 accepted a similar position in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. In 1877 he went to

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

to direct the Conservatory there, and in 1880 he went to

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, where he compiled an encyclopedia on musicians and music. In 1883, he was giving concerts in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. In 1885 he came to New York. While in the United States, he made it a practice to visit Hamburg every summer. He reportedly died from grief over the loss of his 1725 Stradivarius violin, which was stolen from him on 31 March 1894. It was his favorite, and he would play on no other in a concert. After Bott's death, a violin was found in the store of Victor S. Fletcher at 23 Union Square which his widow Mathilde (born Blomeyer) said was the stolen violin. She pointed to various identifying features, and two violin makers,

August Gemünder August Martin Ludwig Gemünder (22 March 1814, Ingelfingen – 7 September 1895, New York City) was an American violin maker who worked in the United States. With his brother, the great American luthier George Gemünder, and others, he pioneered ...

and John Friedrich, testified that it was a Stradivarius, contradicting a Mr. Ross who had purchased the violin from Fletcher and said he did not think it a Stradivarius.

Family

In Meiningen, Bott married Matilda Blomeyer in 1861. Their son entered the German army in 1894, and turned 23 in 1895.

Works

His works comprise two operas — ''Der Unbekannte'' (The Unknown, 1854) and ''Aktäa, das Mädchen von Korinth'' (Actea, the maid from Corinth, 1862) — and symphonies, overtures, violin concertos, pianoforte music, solos for violin, and songs.

Notes

References

* * ;Attribution *

External links

* Portrait with signature. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bott, Jean Joseph 1826 births 1895 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century German musicians 19th-century violinists American male violinists American male composers American violinists German composers German emigrants to the United States German male composers German violinists 19th-century German male musicians